bookchick

And on top of everything else, my alma mater is losing to one of their two arch rivals!!!

BC

seafox

Bookchick - they must all be parting tonight - no additional comments since lunch!!!!

bookchick

I hope they're all aware, Jeff, that penalties attach for lack of GTG reporting. Since Gpanda is always very exacting on that point, I plan to be also. After all, what's good for the panda is good for the wolverine!

I'm sure after they finish nursing their hangovers this morning and settle their stomachs enough to chew on some breakfast, there will be general reluctant grunting about coming here to post and show photos. I need to print some of those photos and pin them up in my garage, as we've had mice...those photos will frighten the mice enough to stay away.

BC

DonTopaz

This year's GTG was surely the best ever. Many thanks & congratulations to Bob and Andy for being the front men or organizing the thing, and to Karen and Beth for <i>les femmes du force majeure</i> to keep the good ship AndyBob on course.

I'll let someone else yap about lunch if they want, coz it happened more than 6 hours ago so I've forgotten.

Dinner at Similan's was a night to remember, though nothing sank and no one declared himself king o' the world. An overflow crowd took over the back of Similan's, occupying two long tables with 14 and a half people at each one. The organizers took care of ordering, and they did a bang-up job as there was plenty of food and all of it was terrific.

I was at Table 1, and we were the Best Table. A fight broke out when the librarians at Table B told us to shut up coz we were making too much noise. The Table 1-ers all threw food at the Table B stuff-pots, and that seemed to stop their kvetching. The highlight of the night was Andy's birthday celebration, complete with uber-amped reggae "Happy Birthday" sung in Thai, followed by The Great Cherry Stem Trick, and SpoonNose.

<b>The Great Cherry Stem Trick</b>

We'd had a taste of this before, but tonight the pressure was on Jeane, Yankeephile Craig's toothdriller spouse, to tie a proper knot with the stem without ever moving her lips while pronouncing a 'b' or a 'p.' The entire restaurant was hushed, except of course for Jeane who was somehow laughing and crying at the same time. In a Houdini-like performance, Madame Stemwinder finally spit out some sort of mangled red thing from her mouth, claiming it to be a knotted stem. The crowd went wild at the feat (which no one was about to verify), and Andy and Jeane swapped trade secrets as to the best tooth-tongue techniques for world-class knottery.

This was immediately followed by....

<b>SpoonNose</b>

If the Cherry Stem Trick weren't breathtaking enough, what can one say about The Night of the Spoons. Jeane, fully energized by her success with the cherry stem, grabbed a spoon and suspended it from her nose. After a failure or two (including a 5-yard penalty for illegally tilting the head back), the the spoon held fast, and Glory was attained. Like some sort of bizarre gender-based virus, Les Girls of Table 1 all started hanging spoons from their noses. Words cannot describe the scene, as it was some combination of hilarity, horror, other-worldliness, and anticipation of spoons falling into <i>décolletage</i>.

Before any of this went on, I wound up talking to some guy that <b>shellyk</b> schlepped in -- she said his name was 'Jim' and claimed that he was her husband, but who knows at these events? Turns out that 'Jim' and I traveled in some similar circles 55 years ago, with common acquaintances of Eddie C the piano player and of course Bertha Bloom. Jessica was listening in to some of this, and she was pleased to learn that Cleveland Circle was, in fact, a circle.

Everyone was looking ultra-fine. Special mention to <b>jaya</b> wearing a drop-dead-gorgeous outfit from India. Without doubt, we had the best looking table in all of Cambridge (no intention of damning with faint praise here).

We eventually closed the place, with lots of see-you-next-years. A grand, grand night.

[A digression: Some regular posters have been reluctant to say much lately on this board. Without trying to speak for any of them, I get the impression that some have lost their enthusiasm for the board due to certain management decisions. I respect those choices and hope that those people will at some point find conditions more conducive to their participation.]

simpsonc510

Good morning! I might be the first one up this morning, at almost 8:45! It was a rather late night (again) and I'm not moving very fast. I'd bet some others are also yawning and scratching their heads and various other body parts this morning, wondering what they did last night!

Dinner was fantastic, as was lunch, and the entire afternoon with fodors friends. So many friendly fodorites (Bob can give numbers/names, but at least 30 at both lunch and dinner)... such interesting conversation about travel, of course, but also other fodorites (were your ears burning?)... such exciting contests at dinner. I'll let Jeane and birthday boy Andy explain the cherries and spoons. I'll say no more. (It was really funny though)

I hope everyones' travels are safe and pleasant. I look forward to coming back to the BOS GTG next year! And now the official GTG reporting can begin!

Time for packing and breakfast.

Carol

bookchick

Thank you Rizzuto and Carol!

I was reduced to dolefully staring at various artifacts from last year's GTG (specifically my panda refrigerator magnet) while wailing and crying over Michigan's loss to State yesterday. The shame of this win (three wins for the Spartans in a row against Michigan) hasn't been felt for 40+ years when I was too young to understand or care about college sports.

BTW, just to roust up a bit more interest in reporting on the festivities, I'll have you folks know there was ANOTHER Fodors GTG yesterday, held in the Washington DC area. Read about it and weep, if you will:
http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...gtg-update.cfm

So...I'm still waiting, with waning patience, for photo evidence of "the best ever" GTG. (Thanks for twisting the knife, Riz, I hope my back tissue was sufficiently soft to get the dagger in at a good angle...)

BC

sharona

Rizzuto gave a great play-by-play and Carol's comments were spot-on so I'll just say that I agree that this one might have been the best one yet. Sorry you missed it bookchick. Your absence was often noted and lamented.

Thanks again go to Don for opening up his house on Friday night to this bunch and as always a big thanks to the organizers Andy and Bob and Beth and Karen. And birthday wishes to Andy and Mimi.

See everyone next year!

Jaya

A big heartfelt "THANK YOU" to Bob and Andy, and all others involved in the planning and perfect execution of this weekend's wonderful Boston GTG events. It was great fun to meet so many Fodorites. Screen-names suddenly were real people!

Even my non-Fodorite, "what do you mean we're having dinner with people you met on a website" DH came ALL THE WAY to Cambridge last night to Similan's (mind you it's only a 45 minute drive from the fields and forests of Cow Hampshire to Metro Boston). But he came, he saw, AND he had a great time - which of course we both did.

***There was a lot of camera activity. Looking forward to the pictures.***

Enjoy the rest of this lovely, long weekend and see you at next year's GTG. Jaya

shelleyk

Last night was fun, somewhat wild and sometimes very loud. I couldn't help feeling sorry for the non GTG couples who came to Similans who expected to have a quiet meal. They did not. Perhaps though they were compensated by the feee entertainment provided by Jeanne and others. It was fun seeing everyone, both old friends and people we had not met before. My DH had a wonderful time reminscing with Rizzuto as well as showing off his "Hang Loose" T shirt (under more formal clothes, of course ) to Hawaiian Traveller. Thanks so much to Bob, Karen, Andy and Beth for organizing a wonderful evening. And thanks to Similan's for providing such excellent food. Now where are the photos.

Nikki

So this is where you folks are all talking about the party. Had to travel all the way to Asia to find the conversation.

It was lots of fun talking to friends new and old and older. Learned what people do at bars who don't drink. If you don't know, ask Andy. (Apparently it includes, but is not limited to, tying cherry stems in knots with your tongue and balancing hot spoons on various body parts.)

Bookchick was missed and toasted.

Talked for twelve hours or so. Heard some interesting life stories, some but not all of them told by the person whose life was in question.

I understand that some people are on long journeys home today. If I ever get the urge to go from Boston to Hawaii for the weekend, I will know that it has been done in the opposite direction.

And now I know there isn't much traffic between Cambridge and Cape Cod at midnight.

I'm just saying.

cigalechanta

It was a fabulous day and night!
I want to thank the Asian board for bringing all those treats.
I have several(thanks to friends who gave me theirs)gold scroll pouches that I think Simpson brought? I'm using them to store my matched undiesTo Lucy for the coffee, the personally created calendar by Mr And Mrs HT. I don't know who brought the bucket candles with the tin crap, but thank you(speak up)
Likewise for the delicious chocolates
A huge thank you to andy and Beth, Bob and Karen
and thanks for my birthday present, an amusing paddle that I got to spank Bob with.

sassy_cat

I only made it to Similans so the party was in full swing by then. The company and the food were both excellent and I met a few people that seemed very familiar..

Thanks to Bob & Karen and Andy & Beth for organising 'the event' which defies description but was comprised of a gtg/birthday party/knock out Thai banquet plus hilarious spoon & cherry tricks mixed with deja vu conversations and more!

Gpanda

All in all, it was a great GTG. The food at lunch was solid and dinner was even better. Jeane is the stem champ as well as the spoon champ. Bob was well-behaved and did not bother us at table 1.

Craig

Jeane and I thought this was the best GTG ever. As displayed by the stem and spoon tricks, Jeane really enjoyed herself. What really made this event special though was the repeat appearances of Lucy (from Hawaii), Carol (from Illinois) and Laurie/Eric (from New York), the debut of Peter/Linda (from Hawaii) and Joan/John (from the UK) plus newbie nanabee, and of course, all of the local "regulars". I was especially impressed with the Saturday night attendance - 29 of us at Similans and no problems with the tab at either lunch or dinner thanks to Andy's accounting skills (who would have known) and the honesty of the attendees.

Looking forward all ready to next year.

We head for Newark airport on Tuesday for our departure to Kauai on Wednesday - will post a trip report on the US board when we return...

simpsonc510

Mimi, I'm glad you have a good use for those bags

Bob and Karen are busy, or I think they would tell you that they brought the buckets you mentioned... um, and the craB things.. lol

Enjoying the fall colors and shopping outlets now until I return to Illinois on Wednesday.

Lucy, have a fabulous trip to Bangkok/Cambodia! I hope you get a last-minute suprise upgrade... all the way there! Craig and Jeane, have a great time in Hawaii (Kauai) and happy anniversary!

Laurie, take care, be well.

Nanabee, sorry I did not get to say goodnight on Saturday, or farewell and bon voyage this morning! I hope your trip home was smooth and uneventful. Hope to see you at another GTG sometime in the future.

And to those who missed the BOS GTG, try to make it here next year! You'll have a fabulous time.

Carol

lcuy

quick note (BB phones are horrible for typing reports)...
GREAT Gtg!!! Thanks to Bob & Karen, Beth & Andy for organizing and to ALL the participants who shared their tips, tales, and joie de vivre. I feel so fortunate to know you all.

Really, really fun times. I'll savor the memories while on my 27 hour journey to Bangkok tomorrow.

bookchick

Fine! Fine! Just go on and have fun without me, I don't care! Fine!

(Thank you for toasting me, though.)

Ahem...and Mr. Kimball, WHERE, prey tell, are the photos??? I'm thinking penalty will attach here. And I don't care that you have guests from out of town, having two last year didn't stop you from posting photos in a timely manner. I, uh, know that for a fact.

On a more serious note, I'm so sorry to have missed Carol, Riz, Laurieco and Eric, Jackie, Nikki, Gomiki, AGM_Cape Cod, Jessica, Lcuy (my partner in crime from last year), and so very many others I look forward to seeing every year. Pooh. Some of you I will see in the coming week. Thank God, I'm jonesing in the worst way.

BC, in a self-pitying, but existential mood

nanabee

Hi Carol - it was so great meeting you. I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to you Sun morning. I managed to make it to the airport and only missed a couple of turnoffs! But managed to still get to the airport with time to spare.

rhkkmk

we are still entertaining some attendees... we are in newport for two days with our english friends.... peter and linda joined us for dinner tonight at scales on thames st.....wait was over an hour so we went to a local bar across the street for the hour.... delicious dinner...

they have just left our room and headed back to the hyatt....

we had a ton of fun this weekend and thank everyone for attending... more later, when i will set the record straight...

pics before the end of the week.... peter has tons also

hawaiiantraveler

Let me add our thanks with the chorus to Karen, Beth, Bob and Andy for organising such a wonderful event. Linda and I had a fantastic time meeting with old and new friends in our first Boston GTG. Hope to make it back here soon to see more of this beautiful part of our country.

Still sightseeing today in the NE area but will post our pictures when we return home later this week.

Aloha!